Material From 101 Open Chicago Police Cases Made Public in 'Historic' Release

Posted:
Friday, June 3, 2016 12:44 PM EDT

(ABC) -- Video, audio and other materials from 101 cases involving the Chicago police were made public today in what Independent Police Review Authority Chief Administrator Sharon Fairley called a “historic" release.

Chicago has "struggled with so many questions about policing and policing accountability,” Fairley said at a news conference today.

"There's a lack of trust," she said, adding that "increased transparency is essential in rebuilding that trust."

The materials released at noon E.T. by the city IPRA -- which investigates police misconduct -- are only from pending cases, Fairley told reporters this morning before the release, adding that not all of the materials document police shootings.

Fairley said that in February the police accountability task force recommended that Chicago adopt a policy regarding the release of video content related to serious incidents involving Chicago police, and she said the mayor agreed. Since that time, various agencies within the city worked together to prepare to implement it, she said.

The policy applies to three kinds of officer-involved incidents: officer involved shootings; officer involved Taser use that results in death or serious harm; and incidents of people in police custody that result in death or serious harm, she said.

Fairley qualified that the materials being released today "may not convey all of the facts" that are relevant to an officer's conduct and do not represent "the status or outcome of any ... underlying IRPA investigations."

After today's "historic" release, evidence like this will be made public within 60 to 90 days of the incident, Fairley said.